Capt Al Ristori posted this today. I agree 100% -


"As expected, striped bass fishing broke open last weekend in Raritan Bay with clamming, trolling and live bunker fishing all producing lots of legal bass. Yet, as good as that fishing has been, it’s important to keep in mind that most of those large bass are females feeding up before spawning in the Hudson River next month.

It’s almost certain that any striper of 20 pounds or more is a female, and the future of local stocks is dependent on maintaining a strong spawning stock in the Hudson. If you’re going to bring home some fish, it’s better to keep the smaller males rather than round-bellied females so close to spawning."